Posted on February, 14 2010

Kathmandu, Nepal – WWF today launched its Tx2 campaign with the slogan "Double or Nothing: Save the wild tigers and save so much more!" WWF offices in 13 range states as well as key offices outside the region are campaigning throughout the year with a suite of campaign activities – from grassroots awareness efforts to targeted political engagement.

Via public outreach and partnerships with a range of influencers and stakeholders, the campaign also aims to highlight and accelerate WWF’s ambitions to stop poaching, protect tiger habitat at an unprecedented scale, and clamp down on the tiger trade.

The campaign began with rallies being organized by eco club students in eight Terai districts of Nepal. Drawing and painting competitions on tiger conservation were also organized by the students in their schools.

Eco club students from Parsa, Chitwan, Bardia and Kanchanpur districts shared their experiences with the tiger and voiced out their commitment to save wild tigers on behalf of hundreds of thousands of eco club students from Terai districts at a press meet organized in Kathmandu.

Young Conservation Ambassador and Miss Nepal Zenisha Moktan also spoke at the occasion and reiterated her commitment to raise awareness to save tigers.

There are only an estimated 3,200 tigers left in the wild, and they face increasing threats including habitat loss and illegal trade. There are 121 adult tigers in Nepal and the tiger numbers have plummeted in the western Nepal.

During the Kathmandu Global Tiger Workshop held in October 2009, Government of Nepal made three major commitments towards saving the wild tigers. "We highly appreciate the Government of Nepal's commitment to establish Banke National Park expanding the tiger habitat in the west, establish National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau to control poaching," said Anil Manandhar, Country Representative, WWF Nepal. "We hope that these will be implemented soon which will help in increasing the number of tigers in Nepal and achieving the goal of doubling the number of tigers by 2022, the next year of the tiger."

In the lead up to the Vladivostok Head of the States Level Summit to be held in Russia in coming September, all 13 tiger range countries recently committed to the goal of doubling tiger numbers in the wild by 2022 at a 1st Asian ministerial conference on tiger conservation in Hua Hin, Thailand.

Throughout the Year of the Tiger, awareness activities will be organized to raise awareness and achieve the goal of doubling the tiger numbers. The campaign is being supported by WWF's conservation partners in Nepal.